New York bus driver facing DWI charges

On behalf of Marianne Bertuna of Aidala Bertuna & Kamins posted in Drunk Driving on Friday August 24, 2018.

A New York Metropolitan Transit Authority worker is facing drunk driving charges and has been suspended from duty without pay after the bus he was driving allegedly crashed into a row of parked cars in Brooklyn during the early morning hours of Aug. 5. None of the nine passengers on board at the time suffered injuries according to media reports. Police say that the accident took place near the intersection of East 56th Street and Flatlands Avenue at approximately 1:30 a.m.

According to a police report, officers were dispatched to intercept the bus after nervous passengers called 911 to report the accident and the driver’s erratic driving. The responding officers say that the 24-year-old man behind the wheel of the bus displayed clear signs of intoxication and was unable to perform a series of field sobriety exercises. Reports suggest that two bottles of vodka were found in the bus. One of the bottles had been opened according to the officers.

A breath test performed at the scene is said to have revealed the man’s blood alcohol content to be .329 percent. A more thorough toxicology test performed at a nearby police station returned a reading of .257 percent according to reports. The legal driving limit in New York is .08 percent. In addition to three drunk driving charges, the man was cited for reckless driving. MTA records reveal that the man has only been driving a bus since October 2017.

Most drunk driving cases are resolved when the defendants involved enter into negotiated plea agreements. During these discussions, experienced criminal defense attorneys may seek to secure more lenient treatment for their clients by bringing mitigating factors to the attention of prosecutors. Attorneys might point out that their clients sincerely regret their behavior, have had no prior dealings with law enforcement and could face severe professional sanctions.